Fear Effect
Developer : Kronos Digital Entertainment
Publisher : Eidos Interactive
Platform : PlayStation
Release Year : 2000
Full Motion Cyberpunk
Fear Effect was one of those titles I saw advertised over and over in the old gaming magazines I loved so much as a kid. The adds always featured Hana, the game’s femme fatal, lounging in a towel or little else, never showing or telling anything about the game itself. If you had asked me back in the day what kind of game Fear Effect was going to be after seeing the adds, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you a single thing. Even today, 26 years later, I had basically no idea what I was about to get into when I fired up Fear Effect on my Retroid Pocket 5, because some how I had managed to avoid everything about this game in the close to 3 decades now since it was released. And you know what? I am glad that I got to go into this game blind, because wow, it was a trip; sure, it was a wild, if uneven ride at times, before overall it was a fantastic experience.
Now, before we really dive into the meat of the game, I want to thank all the gods, both malevolent and benevolent, for the advent of the save state, because holy shit, I made liberal use of them while playing Fear Effect. Very liberal. I used them more than I would like to admit, but the trial and error gameplay design here was maddening at times, and I know that with save states, the chances of me finishing this game would have been close to zero. If not zero.
Survival Cyber Horror?
Fear Effect is a cyberpunk epic that takes place in the futuristic Hong Kong of 2050. You play as one of three mercenaries who have been tasked with tracking down and returning Wee Ming Ling, the daughter of one of the city’s notorious Triad bosses, back home to her father. The band of mercenaries include Hana, Glas, and Deke: Hana is the face of the game and the group’s femme fatale; Glas is the no nonsense member of the group; and Deke is a wise cracking Englishman who is a big fan of firearms. They are a classic ragtag group, and as you get to know them, it’s hard not to root for them. You switch back and forth between the characters at specified points throughout the levels, which gives you a look at the missions from multiple angles. This jumping back and forth makes the world feel alive and is really quite impressive for a Ps1 game.
The game plays very much like Resident Evil and other ‘tank control’ horror games from the era. I know for a lot of folks, especially today, Fear Effect’s control scheme is going to be a serious deal breaker; unless you grew up with this archaic style of movement, I can see the tank controls being rage quit levels of irritating. But if you can get past it, and get used to the controls, you are in for a real treat of a game. The puzzle solving here is also very much in the same vein as Resident Evil and Silent Hill: find the key to open the door or the item to interact with the machine and do that again and again. Unlike Resident Evil which had a lovely menu, Fear Effect decided that was a bridge too far and instead makes you cycle through your weapons and items one at a time, which is as shitty as you would expect. When you’re not in the middle of firefight, cycling through your inventory isn’t too bad, but once the bullets start flying, going through your horde one at a time fucking sucks. I died more than a few times while trying to equip a weapon during a fight, and it was then that I desperately wished for an item menu. I don’t see why you wouldn’t have one? Like, what is there to be gained without it? I don’t know, but I do know I was getting real sick of dying over and over while trying to switch my weapons or use an item.
Fuck it was annoying.
Speaking of dying, Fear Effect is built upon trial and error. This trial and error design philosophy is why I thank my lucky stars that save states exist, because holy shit did it get irritating at times. Sure, Sometimes the game’s actual save points are forgiving, but more often than not, you’ll be playing the same long sequences over and over and over trying to make any sort of progress. Maybe back in the day this trial and error philosophy wasn’t all that bad, but my lord, did it get real old real fast, and I bet more than a few people quit because of it.
Now, I don’t want it to seem like Fear Effect is an awful or unplayable game, because it’s really not, you just have to go into it knowing that it is very much a product of its time. The late ‘90s was a time of experimentation and when developers were still trying to wrap their heads around the whole 3D gaming thing. It makes sense then that games like Fear Effect have more than a few growing pains, but if you can take it for what it is, then Fear Effect is a fun time and a throwback to a time when people were still taking risks.
Cel-Shaded Before it was Cool
When it came to the game’s presentation (graphics, sound design, and story), Fear Effect surprised me again and again with its surprisingly high quality. The visuals are a standout for me, with the cel-shaded characters really popping when placed against the FMV backgrounds, their animations being so smooth and full of character. The full-motion video backgrounds give the scenes some much needed movement, and unlike the static backdrops of Resident Evil, the game world feel so alive thanks to it. The only problem with the backgrounds is how noticeable it is at times when they repeat their sounds and animations: sometimes the transitions are so smooth, with the animation and the sound aligning quite nicely; while other times the breaks in both the sound and animation are jarringly obvious, yanking me out of the scene. It helps that you’re not watching the backgrounds for hours at a time, so these issues aren’t a deal breaker; they’re just really irritating when the rest of the game’s visual presentation are so good.
The sound design in Fear Effect is also a lot better than I was expect. The ambiance of 2050s Hong Kong is awesome, with the hum of the city never ceasing, and the rest of the levels very much following suite. I don’t want to go into the game’s other settings, because I really feel that Fear Effect is a game to be experienced, so just know that all of the game’s levels are as beautifully ambient and full of character as the opening. The sound effects are great too, with the gun playing being hard and heavy, and the music setting the mood admirably time and time again. Now what really blew me away was the game’s voice acting, which is nuts considering how hit or miss (mostly miss) VA was back in the day; the voice actors here and giving it their all, taking the subject matter seriously, and doing a damn good job with it. Their amazing work pulled me into the game’s story, and over and over I was shocked at how good it was.
Fear Effect’s story is awesome, and was not what I was expecting, which seems to be the theme here. The game’s narrative is a strange mix of cyberpunk espionage and Eastern paranormal intrigue, which you would think wouldn’t work well together, but they mix wonderfully to give Fear Effect a story like no other. What starts off as your classic cyberpunk tale, a group of mercenaries tasked with kidnapping the daughter of a dangerous Triad leader, soon turns to the weird when the veil between the normal and the paranormal is pulled away. I was hooked not long after the opening act, and by the end I was so impressed by how well everything came together. Going into Fear Effect blind was the best thing I could have done, because the characters and their story were a hell of a lot of fun, and getting to experience it blind was a real treat.
A Surprisingly Good Time
Fear Effect was a real surprise to me, which I have said here time and again. Everything about this title, from the game’s cel-shaded character models and FMV backgrounds, to its story that masterfully mixes the corpo hell of cyberpunk with esoteric traditions and legends of the East, is better than I was expecting. There are some very rough edges here and there, and there is a real overreliance on trial and error gameplay at times, but it all comes together, the good and the bad, to make a game that is something special. With modern conveniences like save states and emulation, Fear Effect is more than manageable experience, hell, it’s a pretty good one, and a title that I whole-heartedly recommend everyone at least give a try.
I am really looking forward to playing Fear Effect: Retro Helix, the next game in the series, and the prequel to Fear Effect. I have high hopes for what’s next, and I hope you’re all looking forward to it too.
